Ah! A smart contract! I’ll bet there is some blockchain maven coding it up right now.
Very nice. Offload the incentive onto them. > On Jul 4, 2024, at 1:56 AM, thompnicks...@gmail.com wrote: > > My Phellow Phriammers, > I am frantic about the last week’s events. In a fit of absurd geriatric > arrogance, I have concluded that the attached document contains a good idea > that nobody else has thought of. Beset by this illusion, I asking you-all to > forward this letter to anybody for whom it might make a difference. > Attachment and/ or in line text below. Suggestions, calming comments, etc., > welcome. > Nick > ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ > Dear Joe Biden, > I write to offer some thoughts concerning your decision to continue your run > for a second term. These thoughts come in two forms: (1), A description of > what it is like to live from 81 to 86, something that I have done, and you > have not. And (2), a way to leverage your power as presumptive nominee to > guarantee the best possible solution for all of us. > • A Guide The Early Eighties > I was born in ’38, you, in ’43, back in the good old days when two numbers > and an apostrophe were sufficient to identify a year. We both were raised > during World War II. We have other things in common, a life-long > disability, yours a stammer, mine a devastating hip infection as an infant. > We both had heart attacks, yours at an early age, mine much later. I say > all this to claim some standing with you as a spokesman for the early > eighties. I certainly have not suffered the awful human losses that you > have endured in your long life. > The problem of the early eighties is not what a younger person thinks it is > going to be. When I was younger, I worried about the dramatic event that > killed me or left me totally incapacitated, the stroke or the heart attack. > Mind you, these sorts of endings are possible, and the more stress a body is > under, the more likely they are to happen. And mind you, also, such sudden > deaths are devastating to the people you love. > But rational fear of these outcomes is not the hardest part of living > through the early eighties. The most terrifying feature is the vice-like > squeeze between the time available to do ordinary things and the time it > takes to do them. Please consider a simple example. Once upon a time, I > could spring from behind a desk like a scalded cat, stride quickly across a > room, and plop myself down in a couch, while not losing a beat in the > conversation. Now, such a move requires preparation. Arthritis in my hips, > knees and back makes me stiff after a prolonged period of sitting. Am I > going to lift with my legs, or with my hands on the surface of the desk. > Once up, before I take my first step, I must be sure of my balance and > footing. Is that a fold in rug between me and my destination? My path must > be adjusted to take account of it. When I get to the couch, I must plan my > sitting. I need to sit at the end, so to have the arm of the couch to let > myself down gently lest I collapse on to the cushions like a pile of old > bones. And if I was talking when I decided to make this voyage, I must > pause. Those to whom I am talking feel obligated to stay silent till I am > reseated, lest they endanger my progress. All of this is disconcerting > enough. I can only imagine the discomfort I might feel if my spectators > were generals, congresspersons, senators, or cabinet members. > The expansion of the time it takes to do such small acts is multiplied a > hundred times a day. Since fatigue sets in a few seconds earlier every > afternoon, this time is deleted from a day that is itself shrinking > inexorably. Sure, adjustments can be made, sure there can be naps, sure, > staff can step up, others can fill in, but each of these people is also on > their own vice-like time schedule. As this vise tightens, there is bound to > be a moment when someone’s life shatters between its jaws. And with all the > devoted people working around you, you can never be sure that the life that > shatters is your own. > • Make them put up or shut up. > Despite these dark realities, I grant that you have many good and generous > reasons to challenge the odds and hang onto the nomination you have amply > earned and won. Ezra Klein’s dream of a orgy of democracy at the convention > is bonkers. Unleashing the competitive instincts of a bunch of career > politicians (and their organizations) at this time would almost certainly > lead to Trump’s second term. > But there is a way out of this dilemma. I suggest that you go before the > nation with the following proposal. > My fellow Americans, > It has come to my attention that many of you are concerned about a > President’s ability to carry on with the job into his eighties. You should > know that most of the work of being president is in hiring the people who > make up the administration. That work is done. The people around me are > extraordinarily skilled and well-informed, and once such a team is assembled, > the role of the president is to keep them moving forward steadily in a > coordinated direction. One does not have to be able to dance a jig to get > that job done. One can do it from a chair. > As things stand, of course, the country has no way to avoid being governed by > an octogenarian. The choice now is between an elderly man with a loving and > hopeful heart and the alternative, a selfish and mendacious schemer who > admires dictators and seeks vengeance all who oppose him. Now that the > Supreme Court has removed constraints against presidential criminality, this > choice becomes ever more stark, > As it stands, that choice seems obvious to me. Still, many of you would > prefer another option. I see that. But I think you all would agree that if > I were simply to withdraw at this late date, without any guarantee of order > and continuity, chaos might follow. > So, here is my proposal. Let the candidates who would succeed me, [all > extraordinarily people in their own right], agree upon an alternative. If > they can, I will release my delegates and endorse that alternative. If, > however, they cannot, then I will continue to pursue a second term. > Whomever you choose, you should be reassured that my team, highly qualified, > steady, and firm in their allegiance to the institutions of democracy, will > be at the service of any candidat. > Good night, and sleep well, all of you. > And when you wake up tomorrow, please think about this proposal, and make > your wishes known to your leaders. > > In closing, thank you for all you have done to stave off this assault on > democracy. > Yours faithfully, > A fellow octogenarian. > > > > > > > > Nicholas S. Thompson > Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Ethology > Clark University, > nthomp...@clarku.edu > > <Dear Joe Biden.docx>-. --- - / ...- .- .-.. .. -.. / -- --- .-. ... . / -.-. > --- -.. . > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > Fridays 9a-12p Friday St. Johns Cafe / Thursdays 9a-12p Zoom > https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%3a%2f%2fbit.ly%2fvirtualfriam&c=E,1,8sZZOJ1dVcw0WhMZM2Uv-5E1OC4G1jz15pujeJwwUhDo84A7Kl1-sPMeJ4Ea2cmwnLm5xND4IwKQvONvO0f_561swgvhP36QerJpaLBsaQ,,&typo=1 > to (un)subscribe > https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=http%3a%2f%2fredfish.com%2fmailman%2flistinfo%2ffriam_redfish.com&c=E,1,-7PHjLGjfWdjNIQyAn2Jb7t2ltmH95Pzjz1puIeUQxXtUun41PKe1z48MsACuAjAJPN84n2SNKKquJ0_KtEDe4JpMl8VG0z8PVdvbVe3ZBjD9BXEzHkRTvQk&typo=1 > FRIAM-COMIC > https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=http%3a%2f%2ffriam-comic.blogspot.com%2f&c=E,1,bK_GgQTDimpNAMMyCe57ECv9wiSW5P_A6OJRusyPPgcOUc6onjEzwtN_AFNVxLA6O-aDubmyE4qVkzt-vKVtn9Emcn0T8aJGCCyuKvYmudKAd9UzPYZnEA,,&typo=1 > archives: 5/2017 thru present > https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%3a%2f%2fredfish.com%2fpipermail%2ffriam_redfish.com%2f&c=E,1,Dqc6Qp_csBo9qyA49cLrQJcdOBRAavJIqIGhBf0sAJqbQ7Y6G-pl0Zofk0u-R1K_h7oZmt61a2BoOvKCzMTJglNQ1JnAUmTEjxt-cwucw6sJ&typo=1 > 1/2003 thru 6/2021 http://friam.383.s1.nabble.com/ -. --- - / ...- .- .-.. .. -.. / -- --- .-. ... . / -.-. --- -.. . 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